It’s no secret that taking action to keep your brain exercised as you age is one key way to stay younger for longer.

Why? Because just like most other body parts, using your brain keeps it active, and keeping those neurons firing can keep you switched on, even in your twilight years.

There are many ways to do this – from brain training apps and activities, to other things that keep you thinking, like crosswords and sudokus, to engaging in existing hobbies or learning something new.

But a recent study from an international research team suggests that one group of people could really have the edge when it comes to brain ageing – though it’s something that others can catch up on, too.

According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Aging, speaking – or learning to speak – two or more languages can help keep your brain younger for longer.

Being bilingual, or even more impressively, polyglot, could decrease physical decline in the brain, thanks to the extra exercise that speaking in a language that isn’t your native tongue provides your brain.

In a massive international study of 86,149 adults aged between 51 and 90, the researchers discovered that those who were multilingual were half as likely to experience accelerated cognitive decline, even at the oldest of ages.

Meanwhile, those who could speak only one language were trice as likely to face the effects.

There’s more to this than meets the eye though, since researchers haven’t fully ruled out other cultural factors – including diet and exercise – across the studies populations.

This is good news for some, and bad news for others – though it’s never too late to start learning a new language, the study’s authors suggest, with the extra cognitive activity reaping rewards across the board.

With evidence like this, there’s never been a better time to learn something new – and given the additional benefits of language learning, including greater cultural cohesion and understanding, one might wonder whether one day language learning will be prescribed as a way to help keep the mind young.

In the meantime why not get ahead of the curve and learn another language – your brain will thank you.

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